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<title>What Lies in the Misty Woods by auremin, CaveIguana, DeletoBeanBlue1194, eccentricglimpse, HollowMashiro, Justghostingby, lonnoblea, Macdadivali, pkjnl, sapphostypewriter, SleepWho01, Zarina_Sil_Shul</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24086998">What Lies in the Misty Woods</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/auremin/pseuds/auremin'>auremin</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaveIguana/pseuds/CaveIguana'>CaveIguana</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeletoBeanBlue1194/pseuds/DeletoBeanBlue1194'>DeletoBeanBlue1194</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/eccentricglimpse/pseuds/eccentricglimpse'>eccentricglimpse</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollowMashiro/pseuds/HollowMashiro'>HollowMashiro</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justghostingby/pseuds/Justghostingby'>Justghostingby</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonnoblea/pseuds/lonnoblea'>lonnoblea</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macdadivali/pseuds/Macdadivali'>Macdadivali</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pkjnl/pseuds/pkjnl'>pkjnl</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphostypewriter/pseuds/sapphostypewriter'>sapphostypewriter</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepWho01/pseuds/SleepWho01'>SleepWho01</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zarina_Sil_Shul/pseuds/Zarina_Sil_Shul'>Zarina_Sil_Shul</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Room of Swords (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Multi, cryptid AU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:02:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,500</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24086998</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/auremin/pseuds/auremin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaveIguana/pseuds/CaveIguana, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeletoBeanBlue1194/pseuds/DeletoBeanBlue1194, https://archiveofourown.org/users/eccentricglimpse/pseuds/eccentricglimpse, https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollowMashiro/pseuds/HollowMashiro, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justghostingby/pseuds/Justghostingby, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonnoblea/pseuds/lonnoblea, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macdadivali/pseuds/Macdadivali, https://archiveofourown.org/users/pkjnl/pseuds/pkjnl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphostypewriter/pseuds/sapphostypewriter, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepWho01/pseuds/SleepWho01, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zarina_Sil_Shul/pseuds/Zarina_Sil_Shul</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kodya never paid any mind to the rumors of disappearances and strange creatures in the woods near the town he'd grown up in. But when a vacation with his friends goes sour when one of them goes missing, he starts to wonder if those eerie rumors have any truth to them...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ciboulette/Ragan Turgard, Gyrus Axelei/Kodya Karevic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: Alone in the Woods</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This has been a massive collaborative effort across a bunch of users. Hope you enjoy :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>Prologue: Alone in the Woods<br/>
<br/>
</h3><p>The trees swayed in the wind as a woman wandered alone through the autumn woods. Cicadas chirped in harmony with the babbling creek below as the fading light brushed the fallen leaves beneath her feet with soft hints of gold. It was getting dark, but she could still see the trunks of the trees as she passed them, dimly lit by dusk. Beside the trail, just a little ways off, she spotted a broken tree that formed a bench beside a smooth rock. Tiny mushrooms surrounded it, almost glowing under the last of the sun’s rays.</p><p>“Oh, this is perfect!” she exclaimed, wide-eyed as she stepped off the path, running her hand down the worn wood. The two of them could sit here together later, calm and undisturbed. The woman stepped closer to the smooth rock. It could balance a picnic basket. </p><p>Then it was time to test out the most important part of the scene. Turning towards the fallen log, she knelt on one knee. The ground was firm, free of any sharp rocks. The last thing she wanted was a scraped knee to attract worry and ruin the moment. Colored leaves from a tree branch tickled her ear, and she held back a giggle. She hoped it framed her right, like a fairytale. She shifted it so it was slightly to her left, more visible to someone sitting on the tree. There. That would work perfectly. </p><p>She held up her hands, opening the black box she had kept safe in her pocket to reveal the ring inside, diamond glinting in the failing light.</p><p>“My love… who has been with me so long…” she frowned. No, that wasn’t right. Love was too generic. How about darling? Chérie? Chérie. She liked chérie. “Chérie, ever since I first met you…”</p><p>The woods had gone silent at that moment, as if listening to her rehearse her lines. She wondered if the animals thought she had gone mad. How strange it must seem to them to see a human kneeling in the dirt, talking to herself. She shifted, suddenly weirdly self-conscious.</p><p>“Ma chérie,” she swallowed, shaking her head to dismiss the strange feeling of being watched, “You know how much I adore you. Ever since I first met you, in that rainstorm freshman year…” </p><p>A chill ran down her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise as the eerie feeling grew stronger. She kept going nonetheless, committed to finishing her rehearsal. “I saw you there, shivering in the cold, and I thought a goddess had fallen to earth—” A rustle in the undergrowth startled her from behind, disrupting her monologue. She whirled around. But there was nothing there, only the shadows of the lush foliage and tree trunks.</p><p>“Stop being paranoid,” she told herself, suppressing the sudden pang of unease, “J-just keep practicing.” She was probably just getting worked up over a raccoon or something, and she was almost done, anyway. “And w-when you came back, so embarrassed about having borrowed an umbrella, I knew you were someone special. A-and now, I want for us to be together, for as long as we live…”</p><p>The rustle came again. She dropped her hands and tucked the ring into her pocket as she rose slowly to her feet. Behind her was only the shadows, longer than before, reaching towards her. Her heart began to beat more quickly, even though her head tried to convince her there was nothing to fear from shadows, no matter how creepy-looking. </p><p>She shook her head. “It’s late,” she said, trying to justify her unsettled feeling to herself. Way too late to stay out here anymore; the sunlight was rapidly disappearing. She pulled out her flashlight as she began to walk back towards the path. She muttered to herself, “I can practice tomorrow. This was just a bad idea in general; I should have come out here in the morning.” It was such a stupid idea to go alone. Not only that, but to not even tell anyone where she’d gone, or to even bring any tools other than a flashlight, like bear spray? That was dumb. If something happened to her, no one would know for hours. She tried to convince herself that animal attacks from things like bears and mountain lions and rabid bats were rare, and that if she stuck to the trail she’d be fine. But she nonetheless picked up the pace, feeling like an idiot and a scaredy cat for being frightened by what was probably just the dark. </p><p>But, somehow, walking back towards the town was nothing like the trek to the broken tree, like the woods had undergone an uncanny transformation as the sun slid below the horizon. The once lovely trees now loomed like monsters, their branches reaching like long claws, and the creatures who had serenaded her walk earlier had fallen eerily quiet. Even with darkness swiftly falling, something just felt <em> wrong</em>. By now, she was trembling, and it felt harder to breathe. Her flashlight seemed woefully inadequate, its thin beam of light flickering dangerously and struggling to pierce the gloom. She began to walk faster, feeling more urgency with each step. Around her, the stillness of the woods seemed to change into a menacing rustling. There was a slight whistling in her ears, like an inhuman shriek, just too high for her to hear. The cool, clean air now somehow smelled sharper, sicker, with an unnameable stench that reminded her of rotting flesh. </p><p>A sudden, sharp cry echoed over the woods, wolflike yet… different. Harsher. Hungry. The feeling of being watched grew suffocating, almost tangible. Almost like it wasn’t just her imagination anymore.</p><p>Spooked and feeling hunted, she broke into a run, feet pounding against the path and the flashlight beam jerking wildly. Branches and other forest foliage whipped at her skin as she dashed toward the edge of the forest. She could make it, she knew it. The town was only just ahead; she hadn’t gone too far – her only good idea that evening. There was another howl, closer, like it was just over her shoulder. Blind panic gave her an additional burst of adrenaline, pushing her to run faster. Her heart felt like it was trying to beat out of her chest. </p><p>Her foot slipped on something, sending her off the path. She directly landed on a rocky slope, tumbling uncontrollably against the ground as something clawed at her hair, burning sharp against her skin. She screamed, rolling sideways, and the ground disappeared from beneath her. She seemed to catch on every root of the steep slope, but it wasn’t enough to slow her fall. An alarming screech came from above her, and dark claws struck the earth beside her, reaching for her broken limbs. </p><p>A splash and a shriek rang out through the forest as her fall abruptly ended in a creek. A sudden, icy embrace engulfed her face and body as water filled her lungs. But that didn’t stop the burning throughout her body. A sudden force slammed her against the bottom of the creek, mere inches away from air. She cried out in agony, breathing in more water as her back was sliced open by the sharp rocks underneath her. But the burning never stopped, spreading to her hands, her arms, her legs… Blood flowed from her blackened skin, slow and thick, spreading through the water around her wounds. The burning suddenly stopped for a moment, and she weakly surfaced and flipped her hair out of her eyes. She was close to passing out, and her hair was painful against the bruised and cracked skin of her cheeks, but it allowed her to see the monster for the first time. </p><p>The great, antlered beast stood on hind legs, rib bones half protruding through its chest, its sharp teeth snarling as it raised its mighty claws above her head. She flinched as they came down on her, too scared and weak to react. But before the horrible creature reached her, darkness suddenly enveloped its claws, hissing in fury. But then she became acutely aware of the weight inside her, the water, as her lungs spasmed and collapsed on themselves. Unable to breathe and out of her remaining air, the world faded into black.</p><p>The last thing she saw was a pair of piercing purple eyes, gleaming behind a bare deer’s skull.</p>
<hr/><p>When the police came to investigate a report made by the woman’s worried lover, they would find nothing besides a partly charred hat, a smashed flashlight, and a fine diamond ring abandoned among the rotting leaves of the forest floor.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Into the Woods</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>Chapter 1: Into the Woods<br/><br/>
</h3>
<p>A few days since the disappearance, aside from a declining number of search parties, the local uproar had largely died down. The small town was calm that morning… for most. But at one local inn, visitors could hear a woman shouting angrily, loud enough to hear through the walls. Within her room, the woman paced back and forth while yelling into her phone, clutching a new necklace strung around her neck while arguing with the person on the other end of the phone. She grew angrier and angrier as he spoke. </p>
<p>“Damn you, Ciboulette’s out there somewhere, Kodya! Where else would she be?! Just get your ass over to the forest and help me look!” Ragan shouted furiously into her phone, because Kodya <em> wasn’t listening </em>to her. </p>
<p><em> “Look, Ragan </em> —<em>” </em> Kodya started placatingly. But Ragan was in no mood to be placated. </p>
<p>“<em>No, </em> you are helping me look for Cib! If the other search parties haven’t found her, we’ve just got to do it ourselves! I don’t care if you have other plans, this is a <em> missing person!” </em> she bellowed into the phone, grief coloring her words. She could hear Kodya sigh on the other side.</p>
<p><em> “Here, Neph, you take this…” </em> Ragan could tell the phone was being handed off to Nephthys. She huffed, agitated.</p>
<p><em> “Ragan, I know Cib is really important to you, and to all of us, but it wasn’t Kody’s fault, so please don’t yell at him like that. We know you’re hurting and scared, more than the rest of us. We’ll help you look for her. We all want her to be okay,” </em> Nephthys reasoned, her tone calm and level.</p>
<p>Ragan gritted her teeth, because damn it, she wanted to be mad and scream and yell because <em> her girlfriend was missing</em>. But the thought of Ciboulette coaching her to keep her temper at her friends, who were just as worried and trying to support her, helped her keep her voice more even as she replied, “<em>Fine, </em> but get there soon. I’m not waiting long for anyone.” She irritably hung up before they could say goodbye. Her bags were already packed for a day-long search. There was no way she was going to wait any longer for them to make up their minds – that was, until she heard her phone ping. It was a text from Kodya. </p>
<p>
  <em> Ragan, we’ll be there in half an hour. Don’t go out on your own, those woods aren’t safe to wander alone. </em>
</p>
<p>She grumbled to herself, thinking, <em> Sure, Homeboy. I’ll wait, since you finally changed your mind. </em> She texted back that she’d be waiting at the entrance to the trail to the group chat, which consisted of the handful of her college friends who had come with her on this ill-begotten vacation: Kodya, Nephthys, and Tori. Whoever decided to show up was their decision, but Ragan had reached the end of her patience for waiting for her friends to confirm that they’d come, even if it wasn’t safe to search the forest alone. She grabbed her gear, walked out the door, and started up her car. </p>
<p>Spurred by impatience and worry, she quickly made her way through town, fast enough to even shave a few minutes from her driving time to the trail closest to where Cib’s belongings had been found. About halfway to the trail’s entrance, though, she slowed down as she got a call from Nephthys. </p>
<p>“<em>Hey, Ragan. I’m just calling you to check in. We’re on our way, so make sure you don’t leave without us.</em>” </p>
<p>Ragan grunted in acknowledgment. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be waiting. But don’t drag your heels, I won’t wait forever!”</p>
<p>Nephthys sighed, “<em>Ragan, please wait for us. We won’t be long, I promise. We’ll be walking by a hiking store on the way there, though </em> – <em> what are you bringing? We’re missing a few things, and if you have them, we don’t want to stop in and waste more time.</em>”</p>
<p>Ragan grit her teeth; the thought of more delays was frustrating. “What do you need?” she asked, trying to keep her voice level.</p>
<p>“<em>Bear spray and an extra hat? We’ve got everything else. Sunscreen, water, food, bug spray, emergency locator…</em>” Nephthys rattled off.</p>
<p>Ragan sighed in relief. “Yeah, I got those. You guys have a map and a compass?”</p>
<p>“<em>Yeah.</em>”</p>
<p>“Great. I’m almost at the trailhead. Try not to keep me waiting for long, you slowpokes,” Ragan said, trying to tease. She grimaced when it came out more bitter.</p>
<p>“<em>We’ll be there soon, alright? I know you want to start looking right away</em>,” Nephthys said. </p>
<p>“See you soon,” Ragan acknowledged before hanging up.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Nephthys lowered her phone from her ear, looked at the other two, and said, “She’ll wait for us, at least up to a point. She’s got the stuff we’re missing, too.”</p>
<p>Kodya sighed in relief. “Glad she’ll wait so she’s not alone.” Though it would have been nice if she’d waited just a little longer for them to actually finish their breakfast at a local diner, he thought irritably.</p>
<p>After that, however, they were silent as Kodya steered Nephthys and Tori towards the south trail leading into Elkwood Forest, the one closest to where Cib had disappeared. In the quiet, Kodya’s mind wandered towards the nostalgic memories of his hometown of Elkwood, both the good and the bad. The town had barely changed in the years he’d been gone. Same shops, same streets, same stories. With Cib’s disappearance, the ridiculous rumors about the place, about how people would go missing if they went into the forest alone after dark, were fresh on his mind. Going into <em> any </em>wild area alone at night was dangerous, but even the tame stories emphasized that Elkwood Forest was especially dangerous, even compared to other similar forests. The not-so-tame stories, though, claimed that living shadows, or cryptids, or some other odd creatures were responsible for the missing people. The natives would always have fun scaring the tourists with those kinds of stories, though some people definitely took them more seriously than others. However, there was one thing that wasn’t ever joked about, even in the most ridiculous of stories: one should never go alone near the mountainous south and west of the forest, and should stay within the marked flat areas in the north and east, because of how dangerous the south and west areas were. But it wasn’t because of living shadows – just landslides, bears, and other such hazards. </p>
<p>Sometimes, when he’d been a child, Kodya had believed that those shadow creatures really existed, because he’d had recurrent, eerie feelings of being watched while hunting with his family. Kodya remembered mentioning this feeling to a friend; he’d immediately responded that Kodya was being silly, because he knew how it felt: in the end, there was nothing watching him, and it was all his imagination. It had probably been thanks to those dumb rumors, Kodya thought. His childhood friend had been right. None of those rumors ever had any solid evidence to support them. That was around when Kodya had stopped worrying about it, even though the feeling of being watched occasionally accompanied him while in the forest. </p>
<p>Ever since Cib’s disappearance, however, Kodya occasionally found himself wondering again, <em> what if the rumors are true </em> or <em> a living shadow or something got Cib. </em> He always kept those thoughts to himself, and he had to reel them in any time his imagination got out of control. Because the rumors <em> weren’t </em>true, and if “something” had gotten Cib, it would have been an animal like a bear or a mountain lion. But sometimes, his imagination got so wild that he blamed himself, and that he should have never suggested Elkwood to his friends for a vacation, considering the rumors. Even though vacations within college student budgets were hard to come by, and that his family, despite moving out a few years ago, knew the people who ran one of the local hotels well, so he was able to get them all steep discounts. It had been a perfect vacation for the five days of fall break until Cib had disappeared. Now, Kodya wasn’t even sure when they’d be returning to campus, even though classes had started again a couple of days ago.</p>
<p>Kodya shook his head to dispel his thoughts as the three of them ascended the small hill towards the old wooden trail marker, where they saw Ragan pacing back and forth impatiently in front of the caution tape blocking off the trail due to Cib’s disappearance. </p>
<p>“Hey, Ragan, glad you waited,” Kodya greeted as the group approached.</p>
<p>“What took so long?” Ragan grumbled. Kodya raised an eyebrow irritably.</p>
<p>“We’re ten minutes earlier than what we planned previously; I’d say that was quick,” Kodya rebuked as he pulled out his compass and map. He knew she was scared and grieving, but her new prickly attitude over the past few days was wearing his patience thin, especially since Ciboulette’s disappearance was upsetting to him, too. “You know where the police found her belongings, right?” </p>
<p>“Of course.” Ragan didn’t hesitate, ducking under the police tape and heading onto the trail. “Follow me,” she said as the other three crossed the tape. After a few minutes of walking, she turned off the trail, impatiently pushing through the undergrowth. </p>
<p>Kodya frowned, confused, as he quickly checked his map, which confirmed what he thought: they weren’t close enough to the site marked by the police to be turning off the trail yet. Unless Ragan was heading for this one shortcut… “Ragan, why are you leading us off the trail this early? I’m not really a fan of taking this shortcut, if it’s the one I think you’re leading us into. We shouldn’t—”</p>
<p>Ragan whipped her head around and glared irritably at Kodya. “This is a shortcut the police showed me. Even <em> they </em>didn’t want to use the trail. They took it on their first few investigations, and it always took over two hours to get there, while this path takes half the time. And I’m assuming you guys don’t want to wanna be here when night falls, because I sure don’t.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “Besides, you have a compass and a map anyway, so we aren’t going to get lost. Not to mention, it seems like you know this shortcut as well and probably could get us there even quicker.” </p>
<p>Kodya reluctantly responded, “Yes, I probably could get us there quicker… less than an hour, even, but this shortcut isn't exactly my favorite… It’s odd. Every time I have ever taken this specific route, it always feels… off.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Kodya knew there was no way Ragan would buy such a vague explanation.</p>
<p>And indeed she didn’t. “Wow, I totally want to take the trail now,” she said sarcastically. “Listen, you said it yourself – this path is quicker, and this will give us more time to look for clues and to return before night.” </p>
<p>Kodya sighed, defeated. “Alright then.”</p>
<p>Ragan all too eagerly turned and motioned for Kodya to begin leading them off the path. Sighing again, Kodya reluctantly headed to the front to lead the group. This was a bad idea. A prickly, eerie feeling of being watched, mild enough to ignore, started to eat at him as they left the trail behind. Kodya really did not like to leave the trails in this part of the forest, no matter how many times he’d done so before. But if he didn’t lead, Ragan could just push ahead anyway, and then Kodya might be down another friend. One was already too many. They left the trail farther and farther behind as they pushed through the thickening underbrush. Nephthys and Tori looked at each other uncertainly, but they followed without question or protest.</p>
<p>After an hour of stumbling over rocky terrain and forcing their way through and around the brush, Kodya slowed to a stop, panting. The others followed and stood behind him, grateful for the rest. The path they’d chosen had not been an easy one to traverse.</p>
<p>After everyone grabbed their water bottles to rehydrate, Ragan asked, “We getting close, Homeboy?”</p>
<p>“Should be, we’ve— What the hell!?” Kodya exclaimed as he checked his map and compass. He’d had a fairly good idea of where they were, based on direction from his map and compass and his dusty memories of this area of the woods… or so he’d thought. But when he looked at the compass again, the needle was now facing a different direction. Then the compass needle went berserk, spinning wildly and shaking. Startled, Kodya dropped it, and it broke apart when it hit the rocky ground. </p>
<p>Everyone looked at him, perplexed. After a pause, Tori asked worriedly,  “You… okay, Kodya?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I just… I have no idea what just happened. The compass… it went crazy.” Everyone looked at him, wondering if this was the reason why Kodya didn’t like the shortcut, because strange things happened. Uneasiness filled the air. Kodya rubbed the bridge of his nose to calm himself before studying his map again. After consulting the map, Kodya turned in a different direction to walk, until he noticed something was very wrong. He looked around, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the terrain, matching it to memories of where he thought they were and the map, but as he looked closer, he saw… there, an old tree in the wrong place – a rocky outcropping – the subtle contours of the land – the location of the sun – his eyes widened when the realization hit him: they were completely lost. This area looked similar to where they were supposed to be, but it wasn’t. Most of the differences were subtle, but the most glaring one to Kodya was that, according to the position of the sun, the area was laid out in the wrong cardinal directions, almost like the correct area had been completely rotated.</p>
<p>He slowly spoke, his voice shaky. “Guys, we are definitely lost. It’s almost as if we’re in a completely different area of the forest.” There was thinly veiled panic in his eyes as he struggled to speak. “This was a bad idea; I’ve never liked this shortcut, but this is a whole new level of weird!” Kodya looked away as he ran an anxious hand through his hair. Damn it, he could feel the familiar edges of “being-lost” panic already, but doing something rash in his panic was about the worst thing he could do in this situation.</p>
<p>It took a moment for this to sink in. Ragan was the first to respond. “What do you mean, <em> lost</em>? You were supposed to know your way through this forest! I brought you to guide us, not get us lost! Damn it, how are we supposed to find Cib when we’re lost ourselves?”</p>
<p>“Maybe we’ll get lost enough we’ll find her,” Kodya muttered sardonically, forcing himself to take deep breaths and start calming down so he could <em> think </em> clearly. Damn it, how had this happened? He knew this forest, despite being less familiar with the western, southern parts. Even though it had been a few years, he would have <em> noticed </em> if they were going the wrong way, or heading into the wrong part. Wouldn’t he? But if the compass was wrong, with the compass leading in the wrong direction and the wrong path looking almost identical to the right path… But the chances of that happening seemed so low as to be nonexistent. </p>
<p>Kodya heard the girls talking with half an ear as he furiously tried to figure out what had gone wrong.</p>
<p>“Okay. Okay. It’s okay. Kody can lead us out of here. We’re not going to stay lost and die in these woods,” Nephthys said to herself, a little hysterically.</p>
<p>Kodya was less concerned with how to get them un-lost – he was experienced in finding his way out of the woods, even if he didn’t know where he was – than how it had happened in the first place. He hadn’t been so completely, ridiculously lost since he was a kid.</p>
<p>“He’s the one who got us into this mess,” Tori said, a little heatedly. She would never admit it, but the current situation had her unsettled.</p>
<p>“Oh, like any of us would have done any better!” Nephthys snapped.</p>
<p>Kodya hadn’t <em> felt </em>rusty when guiding them. Had he just not been paying enough attention to notice they were going the wrong way…? For a whole hour?</p>
<p>“Wish I could claim I could’ve, but I thought we were going the right way, too,” Ragan admitted. “Damn it, what the hell’s going on?”</p>
<p>“Kodya did mention earlier he thought this shortcut was strange,” Nephthys said quietly. “Maybe we should’ve taken the trail after all…”</p>
<p>Kodya frowned as thoughts of the local superstitions crept forward in his mind. What if they’d been led astray on purpose by some creature…? Kodya shook his head to dislodge the nonsensical thought. There was some kind of mundane explanation for this. Most likely, Kodya had just screwed up somewhere and somehow hadn’t noticed. Ugh.</p>
<p>“Tch,” Ragan muttered. “Trail’s not doing us any good now that we’re stuck out here, is it? Hey, Homeboy, you gonna be able to get us out of here before nightfall? Or <em> maybe </em>even get us to Cib’s last known location?”</p>
<p>Kodya jumped as Ragan addressed him, jarred out of his thoughts. “Y-yeah, I’ll be able to get us back to civilization,” he said. “I don’t know where we are, but I do know how to find my way out here. Just give me a few minutes…” He examined his map, surveying the areas they could have wound up in. Once they got back on the trail, Kodya vowed to pay closer attention to his surroundings, because this type of mistake could get someone killed in this kind of wilderness. Maybe not immediately, from hunger or thirst, but nighttime was far more dangerous… Kodya shook his head; that was the superstition talking.</p>
<p>“I’ll make sure we get out of here before the sun sets,” he found himself saying anyway. “I’m still trying to figure out where the hell we ended up…” He checked, double-checked, even triple-checked the map. Still nothing. The entire forest seemed to fall quiet, waiting for his answer. </p>
<p>“You have a compass, wouldn’t that–… Wait, never mind…” Tori trailed off self-consciously. </p>
<p>Kodya looked around at their surroundings, then sighed and scratched his head. “Well, the bad news is that I can’t figure out where we are,” he announced. “The good news is that I can lead us out of here anyway. I need to use a few tricks I know to get our bearings,” he said with a certainty he didn’t quite feel. Because as much as he tried to ignore it, he didn’t feel like they were alone. It was that same eerie feeling he’d felt as a kid, and that he’d felt earlier, but worse. There were eyes watching him from somewhere, but he didn’t know where. He grit his teeth and forced himself to ignore it. It was just his mind playing tricks on him; he was probably just self-conscious from messing up.</p>
<p>It didn’t take Kodya long to get his bearings, using the movement of the sun compared to the shadows on the ground. He confirmed his directions by checking how the moss on the trees was growing, since he knew more moss often tended to grow on the north side of the trees in this forest. Kodya bit his lip; he couldn’t be completely sure which way the trail was, given that he didn’t know where they were in relation to it. But he <em> did </em>know that they’d been climbing slightly but steadily uphill the whole time, as they should have on the shortcut. Not to mention that traveling downhill was usually a good idea in general when one was lost in the woods. Mind made up, Kodya decided to lead them tentatively northeast. As they forged through the dense underbrush, Kodya kept an eye out to see if anything was familiar, from earlier or from his memories. But there was nothing.</p>
<p>At least, if they had to be lost, they couldn’t ask for nicer weather this time of the year. Kodya was terribly grateful that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, because trying to get them all out of the forest in pouring, chilly rain would have been miserable.</p>
<p>A couple of hours into their attempt to return to the trails, Kodya made them all stop to eat the food they’d brought and rest; they would need their strength. Additionally, it gave him the opportunity to fully reorient himself to the cardinal directions. He cursed under his breath when he found that his sense of direction had drifted, and they’d been going in the wrong direction. Not enough to completely turn them around, or to get them more lost. But certainly enough to put them deeper in the woods than Kodya thought. Ugh, maybe he really <em> was </em>rustier than he thought.</p>
<p>More hours passed fruitlessly as the position of the sun changed. Kodya caught himself drifting from the correct direction more and more often, even if he concentrated. He tried every trick in the book to keep from wandering, but it kept happening. All he could do was square his jaw and fight through whatever it was that was pulling him off the correct direction. It was almost certainly mental exhaustion, because he refused to believe that supernatural creatures were trying to lead him astray. Even if it felt like the eyes watching him grew more intent every time Kodya caught himself leading them all in the wrong direction, even if just by a few degrees. </p>
<p>Finally, after many hours of rigorous mental strain, he recognized a familiar tree, bathed in the golden hues of sunset. </p>
<p>“Finally, some good news,” Kodya exhaled harshly as he walked to the tree, his palm pressed against the old, mossy bark. “I know where to go. We’re close.” They’d wandered much farther northwest than he’d thought, and taken a jagged route to get to this point. Thankfully, though, Kodya’s persistence and knowledge of the outdoors had paid off. He knew they weren’t far from the trail, and it wouldn’t take them long on the trail to make it back to the entrance.</p>
<p>Ragan sighed. “About time,” she muttered tiredly, not quite softly enough.</p>
<p>Kodya turned around, exhaustion from forcing his way through the dense brush adding a touch of irritation to his voice. “That took longer than I thought. But honestly?” Kodya massaged his temples. “I don’t want to stay in these woods overnight either.” </p>
<p>“Finally, we can be rid of this mess,” Tori groaned, pushing sweaty strands of hair out of her face. </p>
<p>“I knew you could do it, Kodya,” Nephthys said, tired but grateful. “Please, lead the way. I want to get out of here.” </p>
<p>Less than fifteen minutes later, Kodya spotted another familiar landmark near the trail. Impressively, Ragan also began to recognize some rock formations and trees. As they neared the trail, everyone agreed that it was too late to continue searching – even Ragan, disheartened by the time wasted from the many hours of being lost. The sun had started to sink beneath the horizon, and the shadows were lengthening; however, they would be out of the woods well before the last of the daylight had disappeared if they hurried. And not long after, the trees and underbrush suddenly gave way to the open space of the trail. </p>
<p>Surprised and grateful exclamations came from the girls. Kodya closed his eyes and sighed in relief, drooping. If Ragan decided to search again for Cib, Kodya was going to insist that they stick to the trails as much as possible. But for now… </p>
<p>“Let’s just get out of here. Quickly,” he groaned.</p>
<p>Despite the day’s ordeal, Ragan somehow had enough energy to turn to them, her expression glowing with excitement and mischief, and challenge, “I bet I can get out of here the quickest!” Before the others could object, Ragan began to sprint as fast as she could towards the trailhead. She always made it a competition to who could reach the library first for their break after their one shared class in college. Who decided to participate with her was always a tossup, but that didn’t stop Ragan from challenging them all each time. Kodya thought it was just the kind of pick-me-up Ragan needed after a day of failure. This time, it seemed Nephthys had somehow found the energy to join her, as she ran in pursuit, calling after Ragan. But Kodya was too fatigued to begin sprinting as well. He just exchanged a tired glance with Tori, who also seemed too weary to join the other two. </p>
<p>Kodya wanted to relax now that they were back on the trail and about to leave the woods. But something still felt off; it still felt like they were being watched closely, like something had been following them for hours now. Kodya internally groaned and waved it off as anxiety from getting lost. No way would anything but the mythical creatures in the local rumors follow them for so long or cause such a feeling, and they didn’t exist.</p>
<p>Not even a moment after the thought had passed through Kodya’s mind when his map slipped through his fingers and was swept up by the wind. He immediately turned and ran after it. </p>
<p>Tori, noticing his departure, called to him, “You want me to wait?” </p>
<p>Kodya responded, “Go without me, I’ll catch up soon!”</p>
<p>Kodya took chase, attempting to grab the map, but every time he got close, it slid through his fingers. The wind took the map off the trail; Kodya cursed and followed. He got farther and farther away from the trail, but at least this time he knew he wasn’t going <em> too </em> far off the trail. Eventually, the map got caught on a bush near a short cliff. Kodya carefully knelt down to pick it up when the feeling like he was being watched intensified to the point of being suffocating. Unable to help himself, Kodya slowly reached for the holster at his waist, where he kept the small handgun he’d brought for defense against predators in the woods. He stood and looked around, then froze. His whole being felt chilled to the bone, and all of the hair on his neck stood straight up as his gaze landed on a pitch-black, bone-riddled <em> thing</em>, illuminated by the last sliver of the sun that was disappearing beneath the horizon. Piercing, blood-red eyes made contact with his cobalt blue ones. Uncomprehending, Kodya could barely think around his terror, let alone move, except to shake in fright.</p>
<p>Its hideous bony mouth was agape, almost as if it were smiling. Fear kept him anchored to the ground, unable to act, at least until the horrid creature lurched toward him. His fight-or-flight response kicked in; he jerked his arm up to aim and then shot the creature. The bullet hit the beast, but to Kodya’s dismay, it did nothing. There wasn’t even a wound to show the bullet had passed through it. The beast looked at Kodya and then at his pistol. There was a moment of silence, punctuated only by Kodya’s rapid panicked breathing, as he prepared to flee, as it was his only option. Then it shrieked as it lunged towards him. Kodya, paralyzed with fear, couldn’t react quickly enough to dodge it. The creature hit his pistol with a spindly limb, flinging it into the air and searing a burn into his hand. The pain finally spurred him into motion. He sprinted as fast as he could towards the trail and where his friends had headed off, and almost ran straight into another one of the dark creatures crawling towards him, its body rippling almost like a centipede’s. He backpedaled frantically and whipped his head around, trying to figure out which way he could flee. But he realized that he was trapped, with the creatures hemming him in against the cliff, too high up and too crowded with trees to jump down safely. Not that he could, anyway, because he saw flashes of more of the black creatures at the cliff base.</p>
<p>Time slowed to a halt as his heart pounded against his chest. His mind was going a million miles an hour. He felt petrified even with the adrenaline pumping through his veins. <em> This is it, this is the end, </em> he thought as a bead of cold sweat ran down his cheek and his eyes burned with tears. <em> Sorry, guys. </em> Had this been Cib’s fate, too? Had her last moments been filled with fear? Had she thought about the people she loved, too? </p>
<p>One of the creatures lunged at him, startling him as it let out a horrific screech. He stumbled backward on reflex, and one foot found purchase only in the air. His body fell backward as he let out a terrified scream. He heard a thunderous crack as pain exploded in his head, and then everything went black.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Ragan arrived first and barely avoided colliding with the police tape as she skidded to a stop. She’d already climbed over it when Nephthys arrived, panting like a dog to try to catch her breath. Ragan grinned at Nephthys, surprised but pleased that anyone had actually run after her. While waiting for Tori and Kodya, Ragan joked about Tori and Kodya being slowpokes. </p>
<p>When Tori finally arrived, she informed the two that Kodya would arrive shortly, since his map had been blown away, and he’d gone to retrieve it. They lounged on a bench near the entrance and thought nothing of it when the forest ranger stationed outside the trail glared at them suspiciously and leaned into her radio. But as the minutes passed by as the group waited for him, they came to the sudden realization that Kodya wasn’t coming. Nephthys started to panic the longer Kodya didn’t show up, frantically standing on the bench to see if he would arrive soon, since the ranger was blocking the trail. She desperately hoped that what she was thinking hadn’t happened – that Kodya hadn’t somehow gotten stuck in the woods after nightfall. </p>
<p>“Where’s Kodya?! Shouldn't he have already caught up to us by now?” </p>
<p>“I swear, if he got caught out there…” Ragan responded, her throat tight. “This is the <em> worst </em>time to disappear! I’m going after him; this shit can’t happen again—” </p>
<p>With her mind made up, Ragan ran back toward the entrance, but was stopped by the grumpy looking forest ranger. Ragan tried to explain the situation but was cut short when the ranger stated that the trail was closed due to the recent disappearance of a woman.</p>
<p>Ragan responded, trying her best to be respectful, “Listen lad— ma’am, there might be anoth—” </p>
<p>“I don’t want to hear it!” the ranger cut her off, “What are you doing? Why are you guys still here? You’re lucky that I’m more lenient; most rangers would have searched you and your car thoroughly for illicit substances, for being out in the forest way past closing.”  </p>
<p>Ragan snapped, “Damn it, one of our friends might still be in there! Do your job and go get him!”  </p>
<p>The ranger grimaced. “You left someone behind in there?” she asked. “Of all the irresponsible—”</p>
<p>“Damn it, lady, we don’t have <em> time </em> for this!” Ragan roared. “Chew us out later all you want, but for now, do your fucking job and <em> go find him! </em>” </p>
<p>The ranger swore under her breath as she pulled a clunky walkie talkie from her belt and alerted the park system that someone was missing, transmitting details about Kodya, which were readily supplied by the girls. Once that was finished, she turned to chew out the girls for sneaking past the ranger on duty into the woods, then checked them to see if they had anything suspicious on them. Once she finished, Tori angrily informed her that there had been no ranger at the trail entrance that morning to keep them out. The ranger cursed once again, muttering something about getting one of her slacker colleagues fired, and jotted down their contact information in case anything related to Kodya turned up. And no, they would not be allowed back in the woods to look for him themselves at this hour. In fact, they would need to accompany her to the ranger station for further processing and questioning.</p>
<p>The group, unable to return to the trail, was forced to walk with the female ranger to the station.</p>
<p>Nephthys was barely able to breathe, tears pooling in her eyes. “Tori! Why didn’t you wait for him!” </p>
<p>Tori looked down, unable to respond right away. “I thought he was right behind me,” she mumbled, ashamed. “And you guys had already run ahea—”</p>
<p>Nephthys, unable to contain herself, cut Tori off. “That still doesn’t justify your decision! What are you, <em> stupid? </em>” </p>
<p>As soon as the stinging words left her mouth, everyone looked at each other in despair and a heavy silence fell over the group. Nobody spoke on the way to the station.  </p>
<p>Once they got close to the ranger station, Nephthys finally said, “I’m… sorry, Tori, I shouldn’t have let my fear get to me like that. But still, you should have been more cautious, after Cib...” </p>
<p>Tori turned to her, a worried expression on her face. “Don’t worry about it; you were right, and I deserved that… It was stupid of me to let him out of my sight. All we can do is hope he’s safe.” </p>
<p>Then Ragan spoke, seeming like she was trying to lighten the mood. “Homeboy grew up in this town… and was able to lead us out of the mistake he made. If anyone can survive these garbage forests, it’s him…” But her voice was strained, and it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself.</p>
<p>Silence fell once again, and the group exchanged anxious looks as they entered the station, hoping that Ragan was right.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Local Legends</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>Chapter 2: Local Legends<br/><br/>
</h3><p>Nephthys sat on the slim bench in the waiting area of the ranger’s station and tried not to cry. First Cib, now Kodya, both missing in the woods. It didn’t feel real. She glanced to the side to see Tori, fiddling with her lighter. On, off; on, off. The habitual click was hardly anything new; she’d done it all the time at school when she was stressed. But right now, it was setting Nephthys’s teeth on edge. She wanted to tell Tori to stop, but she’d hate to drive a wedge further between them when she’d just gotten into a fight with her earlier.</p><p>Besides, there was someone else in the room who would say what she thought. “Would you <em> please </em>stop that infernal clicking?” Ragan groaned from her spot across the small room where she was fiddling with her necklace.</p><p>Tori glanced up and scowled. “It helps me think. Something I need right now.”</p><p>“Oh, so <em> now </em>you’re thinking. Could’ve used that earlier when you left Kodya alone,” Ragan grumbled, crossing her arms. </p><p>Tori flinched, then retorted angrily, “At least I wasn’t the one to start a race and get us split up to begin with!”</p><p>“Guys,” Nephthys snapped, putting her hands up in between the two of them, “that’s enough. We’re all upset. But fighting between ourselves isn’t going to bring them back.”</p><p>“Oh, sure!” Ragan threw her hands up in the air. “Fighting won’t bring them back, but we can’t go out and go looking, because in case you haven’t noticed, we’re stuck in this stupid building!”</p><p>Tori rose to her feet, fists clenched. “You think we’d even be allowed to go looking, now that it’s dark? Now who’s not thinking?”</p><p>“Enough!” Nephthys barked. “We’re all at fault here somehow. This is a terrible situation. I miss them and am worried sick about them too. But fighting amongst ourselves isn’t helping anything. It’s about the worst thing we can do right now. If we don’t stick together right now…” Nephthys laughed mirthlessly, “I think Ciboulette and Kodya would be pretty damn disappointed in us if they came out of the woods and found that we had splintered.” Ragan and Tori looked away, abashed.</p><p>“…I’m sorry,” Tori said miserably after a moment. “I never should have left him…” </p><p>Ragan hung her head. “I’m sorry too… I shouldn’t have… I hate everything about this situation.”</p><p>“I do too,” Nephthys agreed. Then her expression softened. “But let’s try to focus on things we can do to help instead of being at each other’s throats, yeah? We all screwed up, and I don’t want to play the blame game when we could be trying to help Cib and Kodya.”</p><p>Ragan nodded, and then, taking Nephthys’s words to heart, stood and walked over to the desk installed on one wall, where the ranger who’d brought them in was sitting. “Hey, lady!” she loudly said. “How long are you planning to make us wait?” </p><p>The ranger leaned back in her chair, chewing gum. “You three were in the woods after hours, and are possibly responsible for the disappearance of Tristan and Nadia’s son.” She blew a big pink bubble. “We’re gonna have to ask you some questions.”</p><p>“Then what are you waiting for?” Ragan growled, her hands slamming down on the desk so hard that Nephthys feared they would splinter. “Ask us your questions and let us out of this joint!”</p><p>“Cool it, kid.” The woman’s bubble popped as she leaned forward. “We gotta wait for the police.”</p><p>“And when will they be coming?” Ragan said through gritted teeth.</p><p>“¡Hola!” The door flew open with a bang to reveal a man in a cowboy hat and boots. A shiny police badge glittered from the center of his chest. Nephthys got the feeling he polished it often. “I’m Corporal Don Santiago,” he said, beaming at them like they had been introduced at a town social. “But you can call me Don.”</p><p>Nephthys, Tori, and Ragan stared at him, unsure how to respond. Ragan recovered first. “You!” she shouted. “You’re the useless lump that told me you couldn’t find Cib!”</p><p>“That I was, amiga.” The policeman pulled a chair from beside the other lady and sat down, one leg crossed. “But it seems you did not follow my advice to not go looking for her yourself. Why don’t you tell me what happened from the beginning?” He leaned forward.</p><p>And so Ragan did. She explained how Kodya had suggested Elkwood for a vacation, and how there had been a complication with Ragan’s plane ticket, so Cib had to fly in alone to keep their early hotel reservation while Ragan would come later by driving. How she’d arrived to find out that Cib was missing from the hotel worker demanding money for the room. How she’d panicked and called the police, who were no help, and then called Kodya and his friends, who had arrived before her via bus but hadn’t realized Cib had gone missing, in desperation to go after Cib herself. How they’d trekked into the woods, trying to look for Cib, and gotten lost themselves.</p><p>The officer did not interrupt her, even though Nephthys was sure that he’d heard the beginning parts of the story before. It wasn’t until they got to the shortcut that he interjected.</p><p>“The compass stopped working?” he frowned. </p><p>“Indeed!” Tori chipped in. “I saw it myself! It started spinning like crazy, like it couldn’t figure out where north was.”</p><p>“Interesting,” he said as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin and furrowing his brow. Silence stretched out between them, and Nephthys got the feeling that something important had been revealed, though the corporal was declining to say what exactly it was.</p><p>“Wait a minute!” Ragan exclaimed. “You police were the ones who showed me how to take that shortcut in the first place. Why are you calling it interesting?”</p><p>“Forgive me,” Don gave her a placating smile, all tension gone from his features. “The shortcut is perfectly safe, aside from some… odd rumors about the place. They’re only superstitions, not really important.” He waved his hand. “Please continue.”</p><p>Ragan frowned, but did as he suggested. “Kodya did some nature shit to get us out. Got us right back on the trail, but it took a few hours. It was too late to keep going, so I started a race to get back to the entrance.”</p><p>“So Kodya was back on the trail.” Don nodded. “How far did you have to run to get to the entrance?”</p><p>“Well, actually, he lost his map to the wind. It must have been important to him, for him to chase after it,” Tori interrupted. She hugged her arms to her chest. “I was next to him. But he waved me off, to go on ahead.” She broke off, gulping in a great breath before continuing. “I was not thinking and followed his instructions. He was right next to the path, so I figured it would take him seconds. But he did not return.” She looked down at her feet. Don narrowed his eyes.</p><p>“How far down the trail exactly?” he asked. </p><p>“Not far,” Tori replied. “It took me no more than four minutes of a steady jog to reach the others.”</p><p>“Hmm.” Don leaned back in his chair. “Did you notice the time at which he disappeared?”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Nephthys asked, her head tilting to the side. All eyes turned to her. “Tori was the last to arrive. If she says it was four minutes ago, shouldn't your park ranger have made note of when we returned and radioed it in?” Ragan and Tori stared. “What?” she shrugged. “We have protocols like this in the medical field too.”</p><p>“You are right, amiga, of course,” Don gave a half laugh. “How silly of me. Of course we have the time of which you arrived. It’s only… no.” He shook his head. “No, no. Let us stick to the facts.”</p><p>“What are you getting at?” Ragan demanded. “What are you leaving out?”</p><p>“It’s not important. Really,” Don shook his head again. “Just a local legend. We’ll call in the park ranger and see if we can’t get a missing persons form filled out for you.” He began to rise from his chair.</p><p>“It was sunset,” Tori added. “The light was fading rapidly, but still enough to see by.” </p><p>“Oh, dios mio,” Don placed a hand over his mouth. A sudden, horrible feeling flooded Nephthys.</p><p>“What?!” Ragan cried. “What is it? Why does twilight matter?!”</p><p>“There isn’t enough evidence,” Don shook his head. “Once is a coincidence. Twice is still just happenstance. But still…” he paused, as if considering. Then shook his head. “No. It’s just an old folk tale.”</p><p>“What is it, old man? Spit it out!” Ragan angrily exclaimed, “You’re not telling us anything!”</p><p>The woman in the corner popped a loud bubble as she kicked her legs off the desk. “Looks like the ol’ Elkwood Beast is hunting again.”</p><p>Don’s expression darkened and fear pooled into Nephthys’s heart. Then an undefined emotion flickered across Don’s face before his eyes were filled with resignation. </p><p>“What do you mean, ‘Elkwood Beast?’” Tori asked warily.</p><p>“The Elkwood Beast is a local legend about a large, skeletal creature that only comes out around dusk. It’s been sighted by multiple people on different occasions, but most of them were unreliable witnesses. Usually high or drunk,” Don explained, sighing. “Sin embargo, that’s just an old fairy tale.” He waved it off, but then took on a serious expression. “Given that we cannot blame disappearances on myths, you three are still suspects of the disappearance of Kodya Karevic, so I will advise you all to not leave Elkwood.” </p><p>The girls started to protest, but Don interrupted them. “Cálmense, it’s not yet mandatory for you chicas to stay within the boundaries of Elkwood. But, in the event that this case should have any new developments, I’d like you to stay close so as to provide any additional details that may become important. And considering you’ve now suffered <em> two </em> disappearances of such close friends—” He looked each of them in the eye, “—wouldn’t you like to stay and see what you can do to help?”</p><p>Nephthys, Ragan, and Tori all exchanged glances. Ragan gave a shrug. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. Cib’s still missing, and I’ve got at least two more weeks before my hotel booking ends to spend searching, if I don’t extend it again.”</p><p>Nephthys nodded. “I’m not going to leave after Kody went missing. I can find a place to stay.”</p><p>Tori turned to Don, arms crossed. “We are not the types to abandon our friends and run like cowards. If staying here can help us find them, we will do so.”</p><p>Don smiled. “I’m glad to hear it.” He clapped his hands as he stood up. “In that case, you’re free to go!” As he began leaving, he added, “My office is just down the street a ways if you remember something else you think might be important, or if you have any questions. Oh,” he glanced back at them, expression serious, “And try not to go out searching too late, or without a guide, just to be on the safe side. We don’t want more missing people, now, do we?” With that parting remark, he let the door swing shut behind him with a bang.</p><p>Ragan was the first to move. “Let’s get out of here,” she said as she strode towards the door. “You two can stay in my hotel room for tonight, and we’ll go searching first thing tomorrow. Let’s go pick up my car at the trailhead.”</p><p>Nephthys nodded as she and Tori hurried to follow her. “Thank you,” she said.</p><p>Ragan snorted. “Yeah, well, you’re all in this mess because I asked you guys to help me look for Cib in the first place.” She held open the door.</p><p>“Aye,” Tori agreed as she pushed past Ragan. “It took you long enough to remember.” Ragan opened her mouth as if to reply, then closed it, a frown on her lips.</p><p>They walked in silence for a while, the streets dim under the light of the street lights. The woods loomed at the edges of their vision, large and ominous. Their footsteps echoed around them as they walked, creating the illusion of someone walking behind them. Twice, Nephthys thought she caught movement out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned, it was only the shifting shadows created by a flickering street light.</p><p>“You’re jumpy,” Ragan observed, breaking the silence. </p><p>Nephthys shivered, pulling her arms closer around her. “Just a bad feeling.”</p><p>“Don’t tell me you believe all that supernatural crap that police officer was spouting off,” Ragan scoffed, but it rang hollow in the darkness.</p><p>“I don’t know,” Tori said. “Something was definitely up with that compass… maybe even something unnatural. And that policeman seemed like he believed it, even if he tried to dismiss it.”</p><p>“Exactly!” Nephthys chimed in, relieved that Tori was putting the nameless dread into words. “Something’s not right in those woods. At least in the part we were yesterday. I don’t know what it is, but it feels creepy.” </p><p>They all fell silent again, each one stewing in their own personal fears and worries. Finally, Ragan spoke up. “I don’t care if it’s a mountain lion or a monster from Satan himself.” She crossed her arms. “If some creature is responsible for what happened to Cib and Kodya, I’m gonna hunt it down and kill it myself.”</p><p>“How are you going to do that?” Tori pointed out. “Wrestle it with your bare hands?”</p><p>“No,” Ragan scowled. “But as soon as the stores open, I’m buying me a proper gun.”</p><hr/><p>Kodya woke slowly, head aching. He slowly became aware that he was comfortably nestled on something warm and soft. He laid there for a while, too tired to move, as the pain in his head slowly eased. Eventually, though, hunger and a need to relieve himself spurred him to get up. He painstakingly pushed himself to a seated position and tried to rub the gummy feeling out of his eyes. He blinked blearily as he looked around. It was somewhat dimly lit, and he was sitting on a bed of furs and leaves. As he glanced around, he saw that the walls were rocky and pitted, and a pile of assorted bones lay on the other side of the room. A cavern? How had he gotten here anyway? Kodya rubbed his temples, trying to ease the throbbing in his head so he could think. The last thing he remembered was… </p><p>His thoughts were derailed by a series of chirps and whistles from behind him. He slowly swiveled around and saw gleaming purple eyes focused on his figure. The creature before him was massive, even crouching down on two legs. Its head resembled a monstrous, sharp-toothed deer skull; one of its antlers had broken off, leaving a jagged stump behind. The creature’s ribcage and forearm bones were half protruding from its chest and arms and fused with the skin. The non-skeletal parts of its body were covered with a tangled mess of dark brown fur, thicker on its lower half. It had ghastly clawed hands and sharp, menacing talons that protruded from its feet, splattered with grime. A long and slender tail, like a fuzzy lizard’s tail with a tuft of fur at the tip, swished behind it. </p><p>The creature chirruped at him, turned to quickly grab something, and then held out a fresh, bloodied bone and bleeding heart to Kodya, the items loosely held in its razor-sharp claws. Kodya stared dumbly at the creature and then at the gore in its hands for a few moments, trying to understand what he was seeing. The moment was broken by an inquisitive whistle from the creature, causing Kodya’s brain to finally kick into gear. Adrenaline surged, overwhelming the pain in his head; he screamed, horrified, and backed up into the stack of furs and leaves, as far as he could go. The creature seemed to be surprised, rearing back in shock. The pile of furs and leaves fell apart as Kodya pushed back, piling on top of him. He flailed around as the creature tried to approach him and dislodge the entangling furs. The beast moved its hands towards Kodya like it was trying to grab him, but Kodya kept scooting backward, dragging some clinging furs with him until he hit a stone wall. He desperately lunged sideways, but it deftly caught him and then dragged him close to examine him. Kodya froze, immobilized by fear.</p><p>The beast let out a little, perplexed chirp, as if it had expected something else. It began to fiddle with Kodya, moving his limbs like a doll’s and flipping him around. He flinched when it placed a finger on the side of his neck. It felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. Feeling returned to his limbs as the reflexive paralysis wore off and he began to struggle, trying to escape from the creature’s powerful but gentle grasp. He refused to be some <em>thing’s </em>dinner. The creature’s grip automatically tightened on him, but after a few moments, it responded unexpectedly, by flipping Kodya onto his back, securely nestled in its arms. Kodya almost thought that the beast was attempting to calm him down as it began to rock him back and forth as if he were a child. But that couldn’t be possible, because it was a <em>beast</em>, with a monstrous appearance and claws still tipped with gore. So Kodya still fought to free himself from the creature’s grip. Then the beast began whistling a soothing melody. </p><p>The tune was unexpected, familiar, and warm like a memory Kodya couldn’t quite put his finger on, but made him feel safe. As soon the idea entered his mind, he immediately tried to shake off the ridiculous feeling. He was in danger; he could be crushed or torn apart at any second, whenever this monster pleased. That gave him strength once again, and he aggressively continued to try to force his way out of the creature’s hold. But the feeling that he wasn’t in a life-threatening situation, that he <em> was </em>in fact safe, grew stronger. As the hypnotic melody carried on, Kodya’s heart rate slowed. He felt more and more at ease. He could no longer feel the tension in his body. His attempts to escape from the beast’s grip became less and less frantic. His breathing seemed to slow down, and he felt heavy with sleep. The lullaby slowly swept away Kodya’s fear. The feeling of safety finally beat his common sense. Within the next few moments, Kodya slipped into a deep slumber. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. More Than Meets the Eye</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>Chapter 3: More Than Meets the Eye<br/>
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</h3><p>
  <em> He is walking through the woods, far from the trail. He doesn’t recognize where he is, and a part of him feels like he should be worried. He stops to look for directions, but when he tries to move again he realizes he can’t. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He quickly looks down at his feet, and he realizes he’s putting down roots, legs burying and twisting into the soil. His skin feels itchy, and when he moves to scratch it, he realizes it’s become dry and hard, like the bark of the trees. He looks up, reaching towards the warm sunlight as his fingers start to elongate and slip apart. Above him, the trees are, oddly, dripping with a strange glowing liquid. His tongue feels heavy and dry with thirst as soon as he sees the liquid, and he strains to brush against the leaves to knock it down. It slides down his branches and into his awaiting mouth, and suddenly he’s a bird flying about the tree. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The view of the forest is magnificent, trees sprawling out below him far as his eyes can see. And yet, he can also make out the animals on the forest floor and the patterns of the leaves better than the zoom lens on any drone camera. He flies closer, entranced, to a tree with particularly beautiful, shimmering leaves. He lands on the highest branch, watching as butterflies rise up all around him, their fine jeweled wings beating the air as their antennae flicker with light.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He feels tired suddenly, and tucks his head under his wing to take a nap. As he rests, he can feel something thick and hard forming around him, cocooning him inside. He raises his head, but he is still trapped in darkness, the hard surface covering him completely. In a panic, he brings his beak to the edge, banging against it in a desperate attempt to free himself. It cracks. Again and again, until he pushes his head out into the wide and blinding sunlight as the iridescent eggshell falls away around him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He leaps free and scurries down the tree, sticky green feet keeping him solid as gravity attempts to pull him down. He reaches the forest floor, littered with huge leaves he tries to scurry over. Something glowing screams at him, diving down from above. He runs, but it grabs his tail. He sacrifices it for freedom and dashes free, knowing it will regrow. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> His body grows with his tail, and he bounds through the forest, paws carrying him forward as fast as if he were on a motorcycle. But no motorcycle could weave through the trees with the precise skill and grace he possesses. He laughs, but the sound that emerges is guttural and sharp, nothing at all like what his laughter normally sounds like. To the sides, he hears echoing voices, laughing along, just as gruff. A part of him feels like he should be afraid, knowing something is wrong, but the rest of him sings to their replies, safe and content among his pack.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He bounds to the top of a large rock, framed beneath the wide moon, and opens his mouth, a howl bursting from his jaws and filling the night air. </em>
</p>
<hr/><p>“<b><em>Haowoooo</em> </b> <em> ooaahk khak kof kof!</em>” Kodya woke with a start, the cry on his lips dissolving into jagged coughing. Something warm and soft was pressed against his back, and something heavy started stroking his aching head. He shifted away from the weight and the warmth, pushing himself halfway up as he rubbed the crust from his eyes and the pain in his head eased.</p><p>“Where…?” he mumbled. Kodya lowered his hand to take in his surroundings and froze. He was again sitting in a pile of fur and leaves, but this time the beast,<em> that was the Elkwood Beast holy s</em>—, was wrapped around him, a heavy clawed hand awkwardly petting his head in a mockery of comfort. He flinched and scrambled away, out of the nest, and pulled himself into the nearest corner, half-expecting clawed paws to spear into him, or to latch onto him and drag him back into the nest. But neither of these happened as he pressed his back to the wall, groping for something, anything, to defend himself. The beast let out a high pitched whine, a bit like a dog’s, but thankfully did not move closer. Behind the monster and opposite his corner, he could make out the bright light of a cave entrance. An escape route. </p><p>Kodya’s hand closed on something dry and rough. A glance down revealed it to be a thick old stick, bark peeling off at his fingertips. The creature cocked its head to the side as Kodya slowly raised the stick in one hand out of its view, then chucked it with all his might at the great beast’s eye and threw himself towards the cave entrance. </p><p>The creature howled in pain, a deep, echoing sound. Kodya ran blindly, dodging around the beast as it swiped its mighty claws at its eye in an attempt to relieve the pain. The sunlight gleamed before him, welcoming and bright. He was almost there. Then his heart stopped as his feet suddenly left the ground, a large clawed paw lifting him up into the air.</p><p>Kodya flailed but then fell still as the beast emitted a low, rumbling warning. But instead of turning him into mincemeat, it deposited Kodya back on the remade pile of furs and leaves, patting his head as it did so, and sounding almost like an exasperated mother disciplining her unruly child. </p><p>Kodya gritted his teeth, but refused to flinch under its touch a second time. His first attempt at freedom had failed. But that was fine. He had time. Even when provoked, the beast didn’t kill him, so it didn’t want him dead. Not yet, at least. Besides, the Elkwood Beast wasn’t a thing of ghosts and magic; it had hurt when Kodya had thrown the stick. That meant it was made of flesh and blood like everything else in this forest. It would have to drop its guard eventually.</p><p>The monster left him and began rummaging around in another corner of the cave, always making sure to leave its large tail across Kodya’s path so he couldn’t escape without crossing it. Kodya watched carefully, counting the seconds its attention would be preoccupied with the corner. Once he got a feel for its rhythm, he would edge slightly forward, always stopping as the beast’s attention would turn to him and keeping low, almost seated, to trick it into thinking he wasn’t moving. Slowly, he edged further and further out of his corner. </p><p>He made it to the center of the cave before the beast whirled around, completely unexpectedly. Kodya nearly jumped out of his skin, believing he still had five seconds left. There, hanging from the monster’s mouth, was the torn limb of an elk, half cleaned of fur and skin.</p><p>Kodya had only a second to think, <em> о боже, this is how I die</em>, before the creature opened its jaws to drop the limb directly into Kodya’s lap.</p><p>Kodya recoiled as the slimy wet meat touched his bare skin through his torn pants, the unexpected scent of blood and uncooked meat overwhelming his nose and making him nauseous. He gagged, kicking the slab of meat away from his body.</p><p>The Elkwood Beast gave a low growl, tail whipping back and forth as it lowered itself down to prowl towards Kodya. Kodya backed up until he felt the cool stone biting into his back and could move no further, his body rigid. The creature pressed its face to Kodya’s, then lowered to press the side of its head against his stomach. It listened as Kodya’s stomach gave an involuntary hungry growl. Kodya shifted uneasily, uncomfortably reminded that he also needed to relieve himself, but that was an issue that would just have to wait.</p><p>The beast drew back its head and then padded over to the leg of elk meat. It picked the leg up by the exposed bone and dropped it back in front of Kodya.</p><p>Kodya wrinkled his nose as he eyed the meat in front of him. The fur had been partially stripped away, and torn edges of the remaining fur mixed with partially shredded meat and gristle.</p><p>The creature looked at him, then back at the deer leg, and let out a great sigh, shoulders sagging. Grumbling to itself, it tore off a slab of meat with its sharp teeth, its mighty jaws flexing strangely to grind the meat. Then it spat out the chewed up mess in front of Kodya.</p><p>Kodya shuddered with revulsion and tried to push back even further against the rock. The mass was <em> disgusting </em>, even more repulsive than the raw meat and gleaming with saliva. Damn it, what did this thing want from him? He involuntarily gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing, as a light bulb clicked on in his mind. Because the beast had listened to his stomach earlier, and he’d seen this kind of behavior in all kinds of mother animals to feed their babies—</p><p>“You want me to eat it, don’t you?” he said, more for his own benefit than because he expected a response.</p><p>The monster let out a low whine.</p><p>Nonononono. Kodya <em> refused </em> to eat the chewed-up mash. He would take the raw meat over the mush any day, if he absolutely had to choose one. Not eating didn’t seem like an option either, with the creature looming over him expectantly. Even more disturbing was the possibility that the beast was treating Kodya like its… pup or baby or something.</p><p><em> At least it’s not trying to eat <strong>me</strong></em>, Kodya thought as he reached for and wrapped his fingers wrapped around the bone and gristle of the elk leg. His lips curled in disgust as he raised the exposed meat to his face. The last thing he wanted to do was eat, despite his hunger, but if it appeased the monster before him, what choice did he have?</p><p>It tasted horrible, unseasoned and strongly gamey. It had cooled too much to be from an immediate fresh body, and was definitely not entirely safe to eat anymore without cooking. He choked down a single bite as the beast looked on, grimacing and trying not to think of what he could be exposing himself to. He held the leg at arm’s length while preparing to take another disgusting bite.</p><p>Unexpectedly, the elk meat was plucked from his hands and a strong paw snaked around him and lifted him away from the discarded leg and mush. The beast tucked him in another corner before sniffing him and pressing its nose arch, the bone cool and smooth, to Kodya’s forehead. The creature pulled away slowly to lick the top of Kodya’s head. </p><p>Kodya blinked, uncertain of what to do now. The beast ducked its head down to delicately nudge a wide leaf holding berries that Kodya hadn’t noticed in the alcove closer to him.</p><p>Oh. It wanted him to eat berries now. Kodya recognized these berries as safe for humans to eat, a mix of wild berries like huckleberry and saskatoon. Hunger gnawed at Kodya’s stomach, and he eagerly stuffed them into his mouth. </p><p>The monster pulled back as he ate, watching him keenly with sharp lavender orbs gleaming from within its dark eye sockets. As Kodya wiped the last of the berry juice from his chin, it gave a low hum and curled into a ball, head in its paws, staring at Kodya.</p><p>Kodya shifted uncomfortably, from more than just the scrutiny. With his hunger taken care of, the need to relieve himself had swelled within him. He wondered if the monster would let him go outside to relieve himself, or if he’d have to go inside the cave. Could he go inside the cave? There were so many crannies to choose from…</p><p>The creature watched Kodya’s movements and grunted. It rose to its feet and gestured with its head for Kodya to follow it. Kodya jumped to his feet as the monster began to move towards the entrance. Was he being let go, or just being let outside? A billion ideas began to race in his head as he stepped through the rock enclave.</p><p>The sunlight bit into his eyes, burning like fire. Kodya lifted a hand to his eyes to shield them. The forest around them swam into focus. A small clearing lay before him, untouched by any signs of habitation, aside from some dried herbs inconspicuously hung up beside the cave. </p><p>The dried herbs forced the uncomfortable knowledge home for Kodya: this was no dumb animal. No animal would dry herbs for later use, or hang them. This beast had intelligence, maybe even approaching a human’s. Even beyond its physical capabilities, this was not a creature to take lightly.</p><p>The Elkwood Beast grunted beside him, directing Kodya’s attention to it. It gestured to the edge of the woods, as if it wanted Kodya to go. Kodya felt a surge of triumph and hope rise, at the thought of being free, though there was another, more physical urge he had to take care of first. He quickly ducked behind a tree and unzipped his pants.</p><p>As he finished, he realized that he was out of the monster’s sight. Perfect. Whether he’d been let go or not, he wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. Slowly, he began to back away into the woods, careful to keep his footsteps completely silent. It was almost like he was back in his childhood, hunting the wiliest fox in the forest, only this time, <em> he </em>was the fox. </p><p>He turned, moving faster but careful to keep downwind, as he eased down a narrow gully. A stream was at the end, perfect for muddling his scent. He hurried towards it, the rippling water just a few feet below.</p><p>Something slammed into him from behind, sending him sprawling onto the hard forest floor. He groaned as something hard and fuzzy wrapped around him, pulling him up into the air. He struggled, kicking and biting, but it was like kicking a carpeted brick wall. The creature gave a warning growl, and dragged him back through the forest and towards the cave. Kodya gave up fighting back as it lowered him gently into his corner on the nest, once again stuck exactly where he started. </p><p>The monster levelled an irritated glare at him, its mouth twisting into a small snarl— <em> stay put— </em> and all he could do was nod mutely and huddle into the furs.</p>
<hr/><p>In the wake of his failed escape attempts, Kodya had expected the Elkwood Beast to restrain him somehow, or at least guard him more closely. Despite everything, though, it didn’t seem to watch him any more attentively than it had before, something he was mostly grateful for. Because, from what Kodya could recall from the rumors about it, he should already be dead many times over. Unless, the rumors were a misunderstanding? Despite its frightening appearance, the creature hadn’t harmed him – more the opposite, in fact – and seemed to possess far more intelligence than the average animal.</p><p>But that hardly meant that Kodya wanted to stick around; the situation could change with barely a moment’s notice.</p><p><em> Getting out of here isn’t totally impossible yet, </em> he thought determinedly, hugging his knees to his chest and trying to ignore the slow return of his headache from the sunlight and all the jostling. He stared at the outside light that framed the beast’s towering form as it paced through the cavern, reminding himself to <em> stay calm, stay calm, make sure you think things through</em>.</p><p>Though it wasn’t growling anymore, the creature’s movements remained guarded and deliberate, its circling path ensuring that it was always blocking off the only exit. Its rhythmic footfalls were the only sound penetrating the tense silence that had fallen. Every so often, it would glance at a set of dark nooks that littered the cave walls, trailing its gaze over the stone and back to Kodya. And once or twice, the creature stared into empty air and tilted its head like a curious animal, as if it were deep in thought and trying to puzzle something out. </p><p>Minutes stretched into an eternity of wary glances and tense bodies, but in the end, the monster moved first, pausing in its tracks and fixing Kodya with a burning glare. But the creature didn’t raise its claws or bare its teeth, only letting out a soft hiss as it turned to dig something out of the crannies it had been eyeing.</p><p>The beast gathered the items with an unexpected amount of care, rearing up on its hind legs to paw at another stash of whatever it was collecting. </p><p><em> More raw meat? </em> Kodya thought, suppressing a shiver of revulsion. <em> Is it still trying to figure out what to feed me? </em></p><p>When the beast finally turned back to Kodya and spread the items out on the ground in two neat piles, he realized that it had been collecting <em> bones</em>. Every bone was picked clean, gleaming white, both piles appearing to contain bones from any animal the creature could have found in the forest.</p><p><em> Are there human bones in there? </em> Kodya wondered with a growing sense of dread as his doubts about the veracity of the more malicious legends abruptly seemed much less convincing. He couldn’t recognize any one bone as being distinctly human, but it would certainly explain the rumored disappearances in these woods – and <em> Cib</em>! She could be here, just like all those other people, becoming a part of this monster’s collection of skeletons. If that was the case, he <em> had </em> to escape before <em> his </em> bones were added, and inform Ragan and the others of his findings.</p><p>A soft clatter echoed through the cave as the creature raked through the two piles with a paw, mixing the bones together. It sat back on its haunches and looked at Kodya expectantly.</p><p>He stared blankly back, uncomprehending and tense.</p><p>The creature waited for another moment, then huffed impatiently. A low growl rumbled in its throat as it nodded towards the pile of bones, waving a paw over it to draw Kodya’s attention.</p><p>“...I see the bones,” he said aloud, not knowing what else to do. The beast exhaled, a little puff of approval, and began taking out small sets of bones.</p><p>A second group of six bones formed in front of the larger pile. The creature glanced at Kodya again, making sure that he was still watching, before it took one bone from the six and placed it to the left of the large pile. A second bone joined it, then a third, and the final three were pushed to the right of the pile. </p><p>The monster took a small leg bone from the middle pile and held it out to Kodya, gesturing to the left pile, then to the right, with it. </p><p>Kodya frowned. It almost seemed like… “You want me to sort the bones?”</p><p>The creature laid the bone in front of Kodya like a confirmation<em>. </em> He picked up the bone reluctantly, examining it in the dim light. It looked like… it looked just like any regular bone. Why would the beast want him to do this? Unless, Kodya thought with a small shudder, he would be eaten if he did it wrong… or maybe let go if he did it right? Whatever the reason, however, he didn’t think he’d have the option to <em> not </em>do this, just like he hadn’t had the option to not eat the meat earlier. </p><p>He looked at both small piles, frowning as he studied their contents— there didn’t seem to be anything special or <em> different </em> about them. There were large and small bones in both piles, prey and predator, broken and pristine. He reached toward one of the piles, then snatched his hand back, unsure if it was okay for him to touch them, but the monster nudged both the left and right piles forward, bones rolling over each other. Kodya gingerly touched one of the bones, and when the creature failed to react, he picked up a tooth from the left and a thin rib from the right, arranging them beside the leg bone he’d been given. </p><p>Nothing happened for a good five minutes. He stared at the bones, and there simply wasn’t anything special about them. No carvings, no color differences; <em> nothing </em> set them apart. </p><p>The creature poked a small skull in the larger pile, rolling it around boredly. </p><p><em> I’m overthinking this</em>, Kodya sighed, brows knitting together as his head throbbed. His headache was only getting worse at this rate, but if this was some sort of test or something, he couldn’t just give up and lose a chance to escape. </p><p>Finally, he picked up the two bones he’d taken from the sorted piles. <em> What do these have in common? Why would they be different? They’re… they’re all bones… but… </em></p><p>The tooth felt like something else entirely. For a moment, he felt a flash of a coppery, knife-sharp, jagged aura, something so incredibly <em> alive </em> that it seemed capable of tearing through flesh, incorporeal though it was.</p><p>Kodya stared at the rib and it felt… hollow. It echoed with a feeling of loss, an empty vessel drained of something greater. </p><p>One bone seethed with vitality. The other was a fading ghost of that feeling.</p><p>Oh, he was going absolutely <em> insane. </em> His head was pounding, nothing made any <em> sense</em>, and he was pushing bones around for a monster in a forest.</p><p>He studied the leg bone again, rolling it between his fingers, pensive. </p><p><em> Light dapples in the undergrowth. The air pounds like thunderous footsteps against a forest floor. I remember</em>, the bone whispered, <em> Being faster than the wind itself.  </em></p><p>Kodya stared at it disbelievingly, then sighed. He had to be going mad, but these “feelings” were the only scrap of difference he could discern between the bones, so he gathered it with the tooth and placed both back into the pile on the left. He looked to the creature for any sign that he’d chosen correctly, but it didn’t react, still watching him intently while rolling the skull under its paws. </p><p><em> How helpful, </em> he thought bitterly, returning to his task. He took another bone from the unsorted pile and held it up, trying to see it in a better light. It felt silent, another ringing hollowness like the rib. </p><p>It went into the pile on the right. A fragile piece that had probably been the wing of some bird sang silently of blue skies and windblown perches, and it joined the left pile. Empty, lifeless talons and shells were dumped with the rib. The half-piece of a jawbone spoke of crushing blows, falling into the left alongside a claw which described pushing through soft earth and a single vertebrae that whispered like the weight of the world. </p><p>Before he knew it, the middle pile was gone. Two messy piles stood in its place, stacks of scattered bones that he’d divided. The last object left to sort was the skull that the creature had been fiddling with.</p><p>Kodya gestured for the skull, and the creature acquiesced, placing it between the two piles. He picked the skull up carefully, turning it over and waiting for it to say its piece.</p><p><em> Golden leaves, </em> it sighed, buzzing with life, a flood of old memories finally freed. <em> Tree-trunk nooks and fragrant bark. Races across the canopy. A world beneath skittering paws and bending branches. </em></p><p>When the sentiment had passed and the skull returned to a thriving silence, Kodya set it down onto the pile on the left.</p><p>“Done,” he announced to himself, sitting back and hoping he would be freed if he had done the task correctly.</p><p>The creature leaned forward, picking through the two piles. It held up a bone every so often, tilting its head and examining it more closely, before putting it back down with a satisfied hum. Kodya watched anxiously, quietly unsettled every time the creature picked up a bone to analyze. It straightened out the piles one last time, and finally, it stopped.</p><p>The beast glared at the ground venomously. </p><p><em> Oh, that cannot be good. </em>Kodya glanced at the cave entrance, deciding whether he could make a run for it before— </p><p>The creature looked up suddenly, fixing him with the same glare, and he shrunk back. <em> Дерьмо</em>. <em> Too late. </em></p><p>Its dark lavender eyes were filled with frustration and far more intelligence than he had expected, even in spite of the hints he’d noticed. Slowly, it stood, picking up the bones to return them to the cave nooks where they had been kept. </p><p>Tension rolling through every movement, the creature strode back to Kodya. Its intent didn’t seem murderous, but it was staring him down and he did <em> not </em> want to risk being wrong.</p><p>He didn’t get a chance to even <em> think </em> about escaping. </p><p>The cavern lit up with streaks of green light, wisps dancing across the walls and chiming alongside the echoes of the beast’s final growl.</p><p>The air itself seemed to whisper, just as the bones had. <em> A luminous aurora piercing heavy darkness, </em> it sighed, as a sense of peace softly soaking into the cave alongside the sudden brightness. </p><p><em> Glittering snowflakes drifting in a pale night. Silver clouds descending into fog amongst branches. Life finding refuge among rock and root. </em> The beast’s form was silhouetted in the same gentle light that was rippling across the cave walls, its fur and exposed skeleton trailing away in spiralling green embers, melting into something that looked almost <em> human. </em> </p><p>
  <em> Northern stars hung over watchful peaks. Berries ripening under the shelter of leaves. The howl of a blizzard, blotting out the sky.  </em>
</p><p>Where the beast had stood was a man with a deer-skull mask. He lifted the mask up, and it shattered into fragments of light, and then that too was gone. He watched Kodya with the same piercing lavender eyes that the beast had. </p><p><em> Protection, </em> the forest around them breathed. <em> He who defends.  </em></p><p>There was a moment of stillness. Then, without preamble, the man declared, “We need to talk.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please remember to leave a comment and/or kudos if you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Two Sides of a Coin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>Chapter 4: Two Sides of a Coin<br/><br/>
</h3><p>The words “We need to talk” rattled around in Kodya’s head as he stared at the man in shock, struggling to process what had just happened, because there was no way it could be real. Then the man took one step forward, solid and alive, breaking the illusion. Kodya yelped, stumbling back, unable to believe what he’d seen. Yep, he’d gone insane; if he hadn’t before, he certainly had now. He stared at the man, wide-eyed, and the man stared back. </p><p>Then the man took another step closer and sighed, seeming frustrated, then said, “Now…  I imagine this all must be very strange to you, but—” </p><p>Kodya started to laugh helplessly, interrupting him. The man’s brow creased in concern, causing Kodya to laugh harder. Reality felt like it was splintering all around him, in large because of the man-beast-<em>creature </em> in front of him. Was this what it felt like to go insane? Or did he fall into some cursed afterlife after hitting his head? Despite none of this being humorous to him, Kodya could barely keep himself from doubling over. </p><p>Kodya clapped his hand to his forehead and choked out, “Look, it’s been fun, you got me good, but now I’m <em> done</em>. Clearly, I’ve lost my mind!” Kodya straightened and swept past the man, heading towards the exit, and continued, “First, it was the compass, then some <em> creature</em>, and then that beast, and now <em> this</em>. Sorry, but I’m leaving to go somewhere where things actually make sense.” </p><p>Kodya was done with everything this… <em> person </em> had put him through; it didn’t matter if he got lost in the woods. Even that would be better than… whatever was going on here. He was almost out of the cave when the man blocked his path. Kodya impatiently grumbled and tried to brush past him, but the man sidestepped at the same time to prevent Kodya from advancing. Kodya growled and tried again, but was blocked again. His patience running thin, Kodya shot a deadly look at the man, clenching his fists. He was <em> not </em> going to play another game. </p><p>“Please, stop, this is important!” the man pleaded as he once again blocked Kodya’s path when Kodya tried to leave the cave one more time.</p><p>Kodya didn’t care what the man had to say; he’d had <em> more </em>than enough of the situation. He aggressively shoved the other man out of his way and stalked from the cave. The man was lucky Kodya was too shaken to deck him on the way out, too.</p><p>“Wait!” the man yelled. Kodya didn’t even look back as he headed away from the cave. But it seemed Kodya’s patience wasn’t the only one being tested as the man irritatedly demanded, “You will listen to me!” </p><p>Kodya huffed derisively under his breath, “Sure I will.”</p><p>“I said: <b> <em>you will listen to me!</em></b>” commanded the man, his voice booming across the clearing. </p><p>Kodya stopped dead in his tracks. Dread washed over him and his hands trembled as his body moved involuntarily. He tried to resist, but in the end, he couldn’t prevent himself from turning around. The man stood just in front of the cave entrance with clear anger written across his face. His chilling lavender eyes looked like they were glowing. The man pointed to the ground beside him in a clear order, and Kodya walked to where he directed, unable to stop. Then the man sat down on the ground, shortly after, Kodya did too.</p><p>“You haven’t gone insane. This isn’t a joke,” the man stated seriously. </p><p>Kodya stayed quiet, staring blankly into space. Fear from his body moving on its own warred with disbelief that the entire situation was even real. Damn it, he wanted to know what was happening and he wanted to go <em> home </em>. </p><p>The man shifted uneasily, looking a little lost for words, before slowly continuing, “I’m going to explain what exactly is going on, but it’s very important that you listen, because we have a problem. Can you do that?” </p><p><em> What does he mean by “problem”? </em>Kodya wondered, now even more worried. He hesitantly nodded; at the very least, he might get some answers. Something told Kodya that he was in a much bigger mess than he initially thought… and that everything he’d experienced had been real after all.</p><hr/><p>Cool air pressed against her skin as Nephthys pushed open the door to the library. Beside her, Tori shivered as she bustled inside. Ragan smirked. “Cold, fancypants?” </p><p>“I am fine,” Tori scowled. “I’m simply confused as to why they would keep the library as cold inside as outside in autumn.” </p><p>“It’s for the books,” Nephthys explained. “Older books need colder temperatures to help preserve them.” Or at least, she was pretty sure they did. </p><p>“Good for us then,” Ragan shrugged, her fingers twitching as if she wanted to hold the new gun she’d just purchased that she’d been forced to leave in the car. Though the local gun laws were lax enough to allow her to buy the gun without a license with no fuss, they weren’t quite lax enough to let her carry it into a public library. “More books means more info. The faster we get the info we need, the faster we can get back out there.” </p><p>Tori straightened, casting her gaze around the library. “Librarian!” she called, hurrying over to the help desk. “We’re looking for information on the Elkwood Beast; where can we find it?” </p><p>The librarian looked up, raising a single solitary eyebrow as her gaze swept over the three of them. Nephthys fought hard not to squirm as she took in their rumpled clothing, sharp expressions, and Ragan’s new but currently empty gun holster. Nephthys smiled her most winning smile and hoped the librarian didn’t ask any questions.</p><p>The librarian apparently decided that she wasn’t paid enough to ask. “Use the computers for the database,” she lazily directed before returning to her book. </p><p>“Really?” Ragan snapped. “You’re sending us to the computers? What even is your purpose?!” She slammed her fist on the desk. The librarian did not look up.</p><p>“Ragan!” Nephthys cried, keenly aware of the angry stares they were drawing from the other patrons. She sent the librarian an apologetic smile. “Sorry, we’re kind of in a hurry. Isn’t there anything else you can tell us?”</p><p>“The library is for facts and knowledge,” the librarian droned as she boredly turned a page in her book. “We don’t document rumors. If there’s anything, the computers will know. Otherwise, I can’t help you.” </p><p>“There are lives on the line!” Tori exclaimed. “And you know nothing?” The librarian shrugged, attention still on her book. </p><p>“Thank you so much,” Nephthys said quickly, grabbing both Tori and Ragan by the arm before either girl could protest and pushing them towards the computers. “Don’t make a scene,” she hissed. “Do you want to get us thrown out?” Tori bit her lip, and Ragan looked down.</p><p>“Fine,” Ragan grumbled. “Let’s get looking.” She sat down at one of the computer seats with a thump. Tori and Nephthys crowded close as Ragan typed “Elkwood Beast” into the search bar for the library’s database.</p><p>The search engine came up blank, and Ragan cursed. “What the hell?”</p><p>“Try Elkwood legends,” Tori suggested. “Maybe they call it something else.” Ragan obligingly tapped it into the search bar. But there were still no results. </p><p>“Are you kidding me?” Ragan snapped. “What kind of town is this? Do they not even have information on their own legends?”</p><p>“Perhaps you should try “local legends?” Tori offered again, not to be deterred. Ragan did so, and three books popped up. </p><p>“Finally,” Ragan sighed, she clicked on the first one, then frowned. “It says it’s no longer available.”</p><p>“What?” Tori shoved her aside to get a better look at the screen. “What about the next one?” Ragan pushed her back, and clicked on it. No Longer Available flashed in big red letters across the screen. Ragan hit the last one, and the same words appeared again. Nephthys bit her lip.</p><p>“They’re all gone,” Ragan said in shock. “Every single one.”</p><p>“Perhaps they’re on loan?” Nephthys suggested. “We could ask at the desk and try to track them down.” But Ragan shook her head. </p><p>“If they were on loan, it would say so. This means they’re completely gone. Someone lost them or something.” </p><p>“Something is fishy about this,” Tori added.</p><p>Ragan snorted. “Yeah, no kidding. It’s like some messed up conspiracy.” </p><p><em> Conspiracy</em>. Nephthys froze. “I have an idea,” she said, pushing Ragan to the side so she could access the keyboard.</p><p>“What—?” Ragan started, but Nephthys ignored her. Opening Google, she typed in the words, “Elkwood Beast” to scan the internet. Sure enough, a black thumbnail of a YouTube video popped up. </p><p>“Kodya was really excited a few months back,” she explained, “because one of his favorite ‘local legends’ YouTubers had mentioned his hometown. I didn’t watch it, I didn’t have the time, but I figured if they were gonna talk about anything, it would be this legend.”</p><p>Tori eyed the network dubiously. “We’re really going to trust this? It looks like clickbait.” </p><p>Ragan clicked the video. “At this point, we’ll take anything,” she said as the video began to play.”</p><p>The screen went dark before an ominous voice began to speak. “Welcome back, hopelessly lost souls, to another MythMasters exposé. Today’s topic: the elusive Elkwood Beast, from Elkwood, Montana. This cryptid is said to be over ten feet tall, with huge bone white claws and a horned skull for a face. Its body is made of black shadows and white bones, and it hunts in the titular Elkwood Forest after dark, giving it its name.”</p><p>“Sounds kind of like what the sheriff was telling us,” Nephthys mused. Ragan shushed her. </p><p>The video continued playing as the speaker said, “...several theories on the origins of the beast, from a lost lab experiment to an undiscovered type of bear. But perhaps the most common is that it crawled from the depths of hell, out of a hole that is supposedly located inside the confines of the Elkwood Forest.” </p><p>“Well, that’s not ominous,” Ragan muttered uneasily. Nephthys found she quite agreed.</p><hr/><p><em> How do I explain everything to a being who acts, for all intents and purposes, like a human? </em>Gyrus sighed and looked directly at the kid. It appeared he was avoiding eye contact. An acrid scent of fear informed Gyrus that he must have scared him. But that didn’t really matter right now, so long the kid listened. </p><p>Gyrus took a deep breath. “You no doubt have many questions, and are probably wondering what I am, so I’ll start there. I’m a Deinmaar.” </p><p>The kid gave Gyrus a perplexed look. “A what?” </p><p>Gyrus repeated, “A Deinmaar.” The kid repeated the word under his breath, and Gyrus cringed slightly at the way the kid butchered the pronunciation of it. But he pushed on, “Good enough. Now, a Deinmaar is—” </p><p>The boy blurted, “Wait, do you have a name?” </p><p>Gyrus sighed, “I’m Gyrus… I think most humans have names, right?” </p><p>The kid nodded and, a little reluctantly, provided, “My name’s Kodya Karevic. Just call me Kodya.”</p><p>“Okay,” Gyrus acknowledged. Humans had such strange names. “Now then, a Deinmaar is a nature spirit that protects the lands it is part of. The land is our patron god and provides us with power, and we in turn nurture and protect the land as best as we are able. There are a few different types of Deinmaar, based on which kind of creature we were born from and the intrinsic abilities our patron god grants us.”</p><p>“So… kind of like nymphs and dryads?” the kid asked, his brow furrowed.</p><p>“I believe those are names for our kind in certain parts of the world,” Gyrus said thoughtfully.</p><p>“You’re… all over the world? Not just here?” the kid gaped.</p><p>Gyrus snorted. “Of course. Wherever there is nature, you will find us. Although, with everything humans have been up to the past few millennia, there have been fewer and fewer of us.”</p><p>The kid squirmed uncomfortably. On some level, it was satisfying to see the human’s discomfort with the way his species was treating the planet. “But then why, if all this is real… why does no one have proof of your existence? Why do we just have stories and legends?”</p><p>“We’ve had to develop some powerful methods to keep the prying eyes of humans away from us,” Gyrus responded bluntly. “Your kind has been… cruel to us.” </p><p>The kid grimaced and looked away. Gyrus frowned; by Hrygotr, making the kid feel guilty about his species’ transgressions wasn’t the point of this conversation. Especially considering he didn’t know how much the kid was affected by… </p><p>Gyrus quietly sighed and continued, “As I was saying, there are a few different types of Deinmaar, but we all share some similarities. For instance—”</p><p>“What type of spirit are you, then?” the kid interrupted.</p><p>Gyrus twitched at the interruption but answered, “I’m a human spirit, which is a little different from an animal spirit. Human spirits can shapeshift into a standard human form, for instance. I’m also the totem spirit for this area.”</p><p>“Totem spirit…?” the kid repeated.</p><p>“The leader of an area, so to speak. I’m the most powerful spirit you will likely ever meet.” <em> Hopefully</em>, Gyrus thought. </p><p>The kid looked at him, pale and wide-eyed, but he didn’t speak, so Gyrus took that as a sign that he should continue. “Now, our patron god grants us power to protect the land we are bound to. We each have unique abilities, but for most spirits, these can be rather limited, so we augment our strength by harnessing the power stored in animal bones. Each bone has a different ability—” </p><p>“Bones?” the kid echoed. He glanced back toward Gyrus’s home, no doubt thinking of the test Gyrus had given him earlier. “How do they…?”</p><p>Gyrus hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain this in a human tongue in a manner that made sense. “Every creature leaves behind a unique vitality in its bones when it dies,” he began slowly. “We spirits are naturally attuned to the life and energy of the land and its creatures… We can use this vitality imprint for our own purposes, as long as we have the skill to wield it. For instance, bear claws can increase strength, rabbit feet can increase reaction speed, wolf fangs can improve sense of smell, and so on.”</p><p>The kid looked at the entrance to his cave again, obviously troubled. “And… you used these abilities on me earlier?” he asked.</p><p>“Those were some of my intrinsic abilities,” Gyrus replied. “You weren’t exactly cooperating.”</p><p>“I thought I’d been kidnapped by some weird creature that was going to eat me; what did you expect?” the kid grumbled. “You should’ve just been in human form the whole time.”</p><p>Gyrus winced slightly, because what he’d been expecting from the being in front of him… hadn’t exactly been what he’d gotten. He would have to explain that soon… </p><p>Then, breaking the moment’s silence, the kid complained, “Was it really necessary to <em> rock me </em> to sleep?” </p><p>Apparently the kid had been chewing over the revelations of the past few minutes. But honestly, being comforted to sleep was <em> hardly </em>a transgression compared to… “Was it really necessary to kick and bite me?” Gyrus responded irritably.</p><p>The kid didn’t answer, looking embarrassed. After a few moments, he coughed awkwardly and switched topics. “So, with the abilities and bones and whatnot… What are you protecting the land from?” </p><p>Gyrus shifted. “Well…”</p><hr/><p>“—the sightings of the beast are varied,” the video continued, as Nephthys tried to focus. “But the most common sightings take place in two places: the woods and the edges of the cemetery, where a great black shadow has been known to try and dig up graves. The locals have built a sturdy fence around the borders of the cemetery to try and stop what they dismiss as wild dogs from getting in and eating the bodies. Never mind that no normal animal would be able to dig so far down to the graves, let alone crack open the coffins.”</p><p>Nephthys glanced at Ragan and found her pale and shaking. She placed a comforting hand on her shoulders, but she didn’t think Ragan even noticed. </p><p>Tori crossed her arms. “These videos always try to play up the more dramatic bits,” she said. “I wouldn’t put stock in that part. Not yet.” </p><p>Ragan didn’t respond, all her attention on the screen as the narrator continued. “Because of its graverobbing tendencies, it’s no surprise that many believe the beast hunts humans for its food. Some would even go so far as to say it steals the souls of its victims, turning them into its mindless shadows, whose cries lure those lost in the woods to their doom.”</p><p>Tori and Nephthys exchanged glances. “Ragan,” Nephthys started.</p><p>“Stop.” Ragan’s voice was flat. “Right now, we need to find anything we can. We’ll consider what it means for— for Cib and homeboy later.” Her voice cracked over Cib’s name, and Nephthys bit her lip. </p><p>“Now for the next segment of this story,” the narrator continued. “We have a special treat: a guest who actually encountered the beast!” Nephthys felt Ragan shift forward under her hand. Finally. They were getting somewhere.</p><hr/><p><em> This will be tricky to explain, too</em>, Gyrus thought. “We protect our land from anything that tries to harm it. Natural disasters, human activity, general disease and weakness… Humans are trickier to defend against. And…” Gyrus hesitated, “Unnatural creatures. We have no name for them that can be translated to a human tongue. They are made of darkness and their presence chills… They leave nothing behind but death.”</p><p>“Like… a living shadow?” the kid ventured. </p><p>Gyrus nodded gravely. “Yes.”</p><p>The kid chewed his lip and then asked, “Were those the things that attacked me?” </p><p>Perceptive human. Gyrus confirmed, “Yes. I stopped them from devouring you and brought you back here, where you would be safe. But…” Gyrus hesitated. This was the tricky part. “I thought you were at death’s door, so I—”</p><p>The kid, wide-eyed, yelled, “What!? You thought I was dead!?” </p><p>Gyrus awkwardly looked away. “Well, you did fall off a cliff and hit your head on a tree on the way down. There was a lot of blood from that head wound…” The memory of the human, crumpled and bleeding and looking so small and vulnerable to the looming shadows, flashed in his mind. Gyrus shook the image from his head. “Those kinds of injuries would be fatal to most beings, so I presumed you were dead after seeing you fall…”</p><p>The kid gaped in disbelief. “Wait, you’re telling me you saw me get cornered by a bunch of those shadows and you did nothing?!”  </p><p>Gyrus reared back, caught off guard and stung by the accusation. “What? Of course not! It was too late by the time I got there. I arrived just in time to see you fall!”  </p><p>“Oh.” There was a moment of silence, then the kid sighed and lowered his gaze. “Thank you for saving me. I guess I really would have been a goner if you hadn’t, huh… It was stupid of me to run off alone that close to sundown.” He rubbed the back of his head, like he was looking for any sign of injury. “Guess you patched me up pretty well, too.”</p><p>Gyrus flinched, because the kid had just stumbled upon part of the problem they were now <em> both </em>facing. The kid frowned, noticing his reaction, but Gyrus for once cut him off before he could say anything. “That problem I mentioned earlier has to do with that… Please don’t interrupt until I’m done explaining.” The kid shut his jaw and nodded. </p><p>Gyrus took a deep breath. “Now… new spirits are made in a couple of ways, but one of the most common methods is for a spirit to perform a ritual over a creature that is about to die, past the point that healing magic can fix. If you’ll remember, I thought you <em> were </em>about to die… and I have chosen to perform this ritual on any human that I have saved from being devoured, but is about to die nonetheless.” The kid’s eyes widened. He was probably catching on. Gyrus took another deep breath and continued, “As you can probably guess, I performed this ritual on you—”</p><p>“<em>What?!</em>” the kid cried out. He looked down at himself and twisted his fingers into his human shirt. “But, I’m still—”</p><p>“I said not to interrupt until I was done!” Gyrus snapped. By the land beneath his feet, explaining his mistake in detail was <em> excruciating</em>. “The ritual has no effect on a being whose life force is strong – on a being that is healthy and living, in other words. It doesn’t affect those beings which are injured or ill, but are not on the point of dying, either. But…” Gyrus bit his lip. “The ritual is first designed to prevent the creature’s little remaining life force from deteriorating any further, just long enough to ensure the creature does not have a chance to fully die before its body can be transformed from a broken physical form to a healthy spirit’s form. Holding life force in place is a delicate process that can’t happen when there is too much of it, which is why this doesn’t work on creatures who aren’t close enough to dying. Once a creature has been stabilized, the rest of the ritual magic takes root, the transformational magic that sinks into both body and soul. Afterwards, a form of spirit-only recovery for the body and mental changes begin before any physical changes start to appear. At this point, the ritual is complete, even though the effects take some time after to fully emerge.” </p><p>Gyrus took a deep breath. “When I performed the ritual on you, it did take hold on your life force at the beginning, and your head wound closed up shortly afterwards, like you were going to become a spirit. So I brought you back here, for a safe place to complete the transition uninterrupted, washed the blood off…” Gyrus trailed off. “When you woke up, I was expecting to deal with a newborn spirit that was just taking a while to start to shift into its new form, not…”</p><p>“A human?” the kid finished bitterly, his voice cracking.</p><p>“Yes,” Gyrus nodded. “I’ve never heard of a case where the ritual is successfully administered but then fails to transform the being into a Deinmaar… If I had to guess, you were right on the edge between surviving and dying from your injuries. A low enough life force for the ritual to take hold, but a life force that was recovering instead of deteriorating, which the ritual doesn’t stop since it is assumed that life force that low <em> can’t </em>recover… which was then strengthened further by the spirit healing… which then recovered enough to interfere with the rest of the ritual magic and transformation process.” </p><p>Gyrus shook his head. “This is just my best guess… Again, I have never heard of such a thing happening. But then…” he looked the kid straight in the eyes. “Humans have a resiliency unmatched by any other creature. I can only assume that’s why we’re in this situation now.”</p><p>The kid looked like he’d been left speechless, opening and closing his mouth several times, but no sound emerged. Finally, he swallowed hard, and rasped, “So, did I die? Am I not human anymore?”</p><p>“You’re still human!” Gyrus hastened to assure. He was positive of <em> that </em> after studying the kid for a few hours. “Well, mostly.”</p><p>“Mostly?” the kid repeated incredulously. “What does <em> that </em>mean?”</p><p>A whiff of the kid’s now-familiar fear-scent hit his nose. Unfortunately, Gyrus didn’t know if his explanation would help any. “Well, I’ve determined that your body is fully human,” he said. “Your behavior has been mostly human as well, it seems, and your mind… still mostly human, but…”</p><p>“But <em> what?</em>” the kid spit out irritably. </p><p>“In terms of your mind and behavior, I would have to say there’s some degree of spirit ‘taint’,” Gyrus admitted. “Nothing major so far, but…”</p><p>“I shouldn’t have been able to sort those bones the way I did, right?” the kid asked dully.</p><p>Gyrus nodded silently and watched as the kid brought his knees to his chest and hid his face in his knees. He could hear a quiet litany of what sounded like slightly hysterical swears emerge from under the concealing mop of brown hair.</p><p>The kid finally raised his head enough to peek over his knees. “So now what?” he asked, slightly muffled. “Is this going to get worse, or…”</p><p>Gyrus unhappily shook his head. “I don’t know. Again, I’ve never heard of this happening before So, in that case…” He hesitated. Damn it, he didn’t want to have to do this, but this kid was <em> his </em>responsibility now. </p><hr/><p>“...So tell us, what can we call you?” the narrator asked. All three girls leaned forward, eager to finally get a lead.</p><p>“X,” a distorted voice replied, and the girls slumped backwards. “Call me X.”</p><p>“Well that’s less than useless,” Tori grumbled.</p><p>“We can ask the locals if X is actually from here,” Nephthys advised. “See if his story checks out or not.”</p><p>“Shut up!” Ragan snapped.</p><p>“…encountered the beast with my brother,” X was saying. “In the woods. It was nearly twilight and we were heading home, like any sensible local. That’s when he heard it, someone crying out for help. My brother took off, and I ran after him. All around us, the air grew cold. Even now I remember that unnatural chill, even though it was well into July.” </p><p>“Cold?” Nephthys said, remembering the chill she’d felt as they’d left the ranger’s station.</p><p>“There were shadows all around us, moving in strange ways. He was just a bit ahead of me, but I saw clear as day the exact moment the monster grabbed him. Its teeth tore into his shoulder as the darkness swirled. I heard my brother scream. Then I heard shouts, and the sheriff and his men showed up with torches and fire. The beast was gone by the time they got there, dragging my brother along with it.”</p><p>“Interesting,” the narrator said. “Did you ever go back to the woods?”</p><p>“Of course! Who do you think I am?” X snapped. “I had the whole town combing those woods for his body. We didn’t find anything. Except…” he broke off. Nephthys leaned forward to hear what he had to say. “…I heard his voice once, when I was searching the woods again, months later. It was just a little before dawn and I was alone, everyone else had long since given up, but I heard him, clear as day. I ran towards his voice, and that’s when I met the shadow creature.”</p><p>“Shadow creature?” the narrator asked.</p><p>“Its minions, I thought you researched this,” X snapped back. “It tried to attack me, but at that moment, the sun began to rise. As soon as the sun touched it, it jerked away, and I was able to run. The light saved my life then. I don’t know how, but it did.”</p><p>The video cut away to a sketch of the beast, as the narrator began to sum up the information and ask for likes and subscribers.</p><p> Nephthys stared at the screen, feeling frozen. Ragan leaned forward, resting her head on the keyboard, her shoulders slumped.</p><p>“What does this mean?” Tori asked, frowning deeply.</p><p>Ragan was silent for a solid minute, before she lifted her head. “It means there’s a chance a part of Kodya and Cib are alive,” she said. Nephthys bit her lip. She didn’t know how to say that she thought the voice had probably been a hallucination.</p><p>Ragan shook her head. “It’s not a big chance,” she added.  “But it’s there. And what’s more…” A savage grin crossed her features. “There’s a way to hurt it.” </p><p>Tori’s face took a similarly feral expression as she put together the meaning in Ragan’s words.</p><p>“I’ll talk with the locals,” Nephthys volunteered. “See if we can’t find this X, and reference his story.”</p><p>“Do that,” Ragan nodded. “In the meantime, Red and I can get some effective weapons. But once we’ve got this guy…” She cracked her knuckles. “We’re going beast hunting.”</p><hr/><p>Kodya watched as Gyrus let out a heavy sigh and finally continued, “A newborn spirit is the responsibility of the parent spirit.” </p><p>Kodya’s brow furrowed. “What does that have to do with anything?”</p><p>Gyrus looked him straight in the eyes. “You’re <em> my </em>responsibility now, spirit or human. I will be staying in your company and taking care of you until I feel we have determined how much spirit you have within you, and how much the ritual has impacted you.”</p><p>It took a moment for that to process while Kodya stared dumbly. “…<em>What?!</em>”</p>
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